Hope is all he has left...
Prince Kian is supposed to be dead. He was only 8 years old when the Dark King came into his home and slaughtered his family. Now 21, he lives in hiding, grieving the family and the kingdom both lost. With no magic left...
The pair stared at me in silence before the man burst into a fit of laughter. The woman just narrowed her eyes. My face was aflame, perhaps I shouldn't have been so dramatic.
"That's quite a statement, but can you prove it?" I took a deep breath and thought for a moment, then I remembered, I had brought what had once been my crown along with me for good luck. Now that I thought about it, that crown probably created the exact opposite...
"Can I see my pack? I may have something that will show you I'm telling the truth." The young woman looked at me warily, before picking up the small bag on the ground beside me.
"Untie him but stay close and ready, Areis," The woman said to the man named Areis, who quickly unbound my wrists as the woman handed me my belongings. I made quick work of finding the small crown. It had fit a boy that hadn't existed for thirteen years, a boy who was very much alive and never need worry about the throne. He had two siblings in front of him, vying for it. That boy had wanted to live, to see every part of the world. But that boy had died along with his family years ago. I wondered what he would think of me now. I held out the small headpiece, which was barely big enough to fit around my wrist.
The woman took it gently as if sensing my own caution had made her wary of the object.
"Is this what I think it is?" She whispered, tracing the ridges of the crown. I nodded, the lump in my throat keeping me from speaking. The woman looked up at Areis incredulously. Her fingers hovered over my family crest, which had been engraved onto the metal. I suddenly found myself wanting to take the crown back.
"He's actually telling the truth," She said, looking as if she was still trying to convince herself.
Areis faced me, his eyes filled with curiosity, "But how it Fate's realm is that possible? You died thirteen years ago!"
"Obviously not," I grumbled, "I've taken a huge leap of faith by revealing this. Now tell me, what do you know of the burst of magic?"
The woman scratched the back of her neck, her deep blue eyes flickered to the ground. Areis found a nearby tree suddenly interesting.
Seeming to have found her confidence, the woman looked back up at me.
"The first thing you should know is that my name is Zora Stone. The second is that... is that I was the cause of that burst."
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The cave where Zora and Areis had made camp seemed like a home of sorts to me. It was odd to be back within the earth. I hadn't quite missed it, but the familiarity was comforting. Zora had introduced me to her other companions: a young and talented healer and a thermokinetic woman with Ardunian traits. I sat on a small log, listening as they told their stories.
Zora was a brave young woman who had taken on a role of leadership at a young age. Areis and Cayra were siblings who had stayed together and survived all the horrors the purge had thrown at them. Tyri was an incredibly strong and confident woman who had lost her entire family to the purge. However, what intrigued me most was the fact that an entire town of magic wielders had been hiding right under everyone's noses. This fact gave me more hope than I had felt in thirteen years.
"Okay, pretty boy, we've told you our story. It's time for you to tell yours. How are you alive?" Tyri said. Four pairs of curious eyes stared at me. I cleared my throat.
"The night it happened, the court had been staying at the summer palace in Eastcliffe. My father had given me permission to go on a late night ride with my best friend. When we returned the palace was in flames and there were bodies everywhere. Father's Chamberlain found us hiding in the stables and we fled into the woods with everyone else we could find. After the palace was burned, all of my family was pronounced dead and very few of the court were thought to have survived. Eventually, we made our way to the Blackcap Mountains and we made a fortress out of its caverns. My court is still there, awaiting my return," I explained, trying to keep my voice emotionless.
Zora's eyes softened, "We are more alike than you think, Kian," She said with a rueful smile. Cayra and Areis sat together against the stone wall, the latter studying me with a strange expression. Tyri sat next to Zora, sharpening her knife.
"So where do we go from here?" She asked, "What do you want with Zora's power?"
I considered what I would be asking of these people, who had already been through so much. Though perhaps they would want revenge as much as I did. I took a deep breath, "I want you-all of you- to come back to the caverns with me. Even your people in Stockgrove if they're willing. I have been waiting thirteen years to make a stand against the Dark King, and with your help, I think we might just stand a chance," I pleaded.
The cave was silent but for a trickling of water through a crack in the ceiling. Tyri looked at me with narrowed eyes, and Zora stared at the floor in deep thought. Cayra and Areis looked to her.
"I'll go with you," Tyri said, as she got up from her log and knelt before me. Zora looked quizzically at the scene, her eyebrows raised.
"You have no army, no funds, and no throne. Why should we risk everything we've built for you?" She questioned. I good inquiry, one I could not give a perfect answer to.
"Because there is risk in everything, you just have to pick the moments that you choose to give into it entirely. I cannot promise you that nothing bad will happen, but I promise you that by the end of this revolution you will be glad to stand behind me,"
"Beside you. I will not stand behind you, because the people of Stockgrove are my people and you're asking me to risk their lives. So I stand beside you or I don't stand with you at all," Zora said, standing. Her dark eyes were piercing in the firelight, at that moment she looked like a warrior, a queen. "Do we have a deal, Prince?"
I knew that what she was asking for couldn't be done, not really. But I also knew what it was like to want to protect the people you love. I could let her take the reins over the magic wielders, let her believe that she had the control. So I offered her my hand.
